Fighting Grease and Grime on the Bike Commute

Bicycle commuting can be an ugly business at times. For example, after my bike had been left dormant for a few weeks while I traveled it rebelled against me and decided to lose the chain while shifting gears. Not only that, the chain doubled up on itself and it took both hands to get it back into normal position. The result? Two filthy, greasy hands.

You also never know what the streets are going to throw at you. From a puddle of antifreeze to a disgusting juice puddle left by a garbage truck, the muck you encounter can be brutal. If you have gunk on you or your bike that you want to get off and don't want touch it, or if you don't want to get your hands dirty while doing a repair, what can you do?

My solution is tie an old sock or rag to my frame. Got a sock that is wasting away in your drawer? Tie it loud and tie it proud!  Plus, a dirty, greasy, nasty old sock hanging from your frame tells people -

1) This dude or dudette is really serious about biking

2) I don’t want to get near that scary looking sock so I’m leaving that bike alone!

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If you have hacks for fighting grime, feel free to contact us!

Comments

[Kim Laroux]

This sure wins a few points in the bike uglification process. But what happens when it rains on them? They'd get all soaked and drip on you in your next ride. Gross.

For the few times that I lost a chain, I usually just looked around for a stick to bring it back on. A tree branch usually does the trick. I also use this technique to help with moving the chain off an on the rear wheel gears when I have to swap the whole wheel off.

My backpacks all contain two ziplock bags: one with dry facial tissues and another with wet wipes. Experience has shown me that having those two things in stock can make a difference between a problem that will ruin the rest of the ride, and one that gets forgotten.

[archergal]

Those little bottle of alcohol hand sanitizers are also actually pretty good for de-greasing your hands.

[John h]

I prefer tearing up old t-shirts. They are usually more absorbent and my socks don't age well. =)

[Bicyclechica.wordpress.com]

A lawn covered in morning dew saved me one time after a particularly greasy chain repair.